If you work in the Internet marketing or interactive design space, you know there is a great deal happening these days. From the developments and professional opportunities in mobile applications and e-commerce to the increasingly blurry line between search marketing and social media skill sets, it’s nice to have a higher-level “state of the union” that sums up all the relevant career and hiring trends once in a while, right?
To bring you just such a summary, I interviewed Onward Search’s Chief Operating Officer, Ken Clark, and got his expert opinion on the most important current developments in the Internet marketing and interactive design job markets that affect the careers and operations of the professionals and companies in these industries.
Here it is; your Internet marketing “state of the union” for careers and hiring in the job market.
First and foremost, how is the hiring market right now for Internet marketers?
Ken: To put it simply, it is great! As businesses emerge from the recession, the first area they redirect their dollars to is customer acquisition, and specifically customer acquisition on the web and mobile. We are seeing companies of all shapes, sizes, and industries aggressively hiring at the senior, intermediate, and junior level for Internet marketers. Internet marketing continues to be really hot and there is no debate about whether or not there is a recovery. It is growing very rapidly right now and our job order count has been growing every week since the beginning of the year.
What are the hottest areas?
Ken: There are three segments where we are seeing a lot of jobs right now. First – Social Media jobs. It goes without saying that most companies are embracing social media as an avenue to engage their prospective, as well as current customers, so that has been a hot spot recently. Typical job titles that we see today that were far less common even a year ago are “social media managers” and “community managers” – which in essence are people within companies responsible for both driving and executing a social media strategy. Second – there is a very strong demand for what I’d describe as the Director or VP of Internet marketing. This person is not just an “SEO or PPC guru”. What distinguishes them is that they are responsible for setting and executing the entire Internet Marketing strategy for a company and typically has a team reporting into him or her. More and more companies need these higher level managers to ensure their marketing dollars are spent properly. Finally is Web Analytics. This is a hot area, particularly in e-commerce and e-retailers, and we are seeing companies increasingly seek out dedicated people to solely focus on managing their metrics in order to drive more performance.
What are companies moving away from?
Ken: I think back to a couple years ago and a popular topic on blogs and conferences was, “should your company go ’in-house’ or ’agency’”, and the discussions were always positioned as being a choice between one and the other. If you fast forward to the present day, the zeal around that debate definitely seems a little manufactured and the passions around it have evaporated. Most companies of significant size aren’t picking one over the other, but instead do both, and that makes a lot of sense when you consider the benefits of having your company focused on your core competencies, while outsourcing the rest. A typical company that we see has a strong in-house team that is often supplemented with a mix of agencies, consultants, and/or free-lancers, as appropriate for their needs.
Are you seeing pockets of skill sets that are becoming standard for all internet marketing professionals? For example, should every internet marketer have experience SEO, Social Media and Web Analytics regardless of what their focus is?
Ken: Interesting question. I could argue with equal passion that the most important thing a person should do in their career is develop a broad understanding of all areas, or specialize in a specific niche. It really depends on where you want to go in your career. For example, a strategic leader doesn’t need to be the subject-matter expert, but has to know enough about all topics “to be dangerous”, while a specialist needs to know his / her space better than anyone else. However, I believe everyone should have a broad understanding of all the areas as a baseline. We always tell new people to the industry that the simplest way to do this is to get your hands dirty by managing the end-to-end marketing strategy of a website of your own, a company, or other organization as early as possible in your career. That gives you the experience of having to do your own SEO, PPC, social media, analytics, conversion measurements, site promotion, etc. From there you can decide what you like the most and it will help you on the general arc of your career.
Where should companies focus their hiring strategies so they get the biggest bang for their branding buck? (Ha, say that 5 times fast)
Ken: Successful recruiting is all about marketing your company better than anyone else, so Internet marketers should have an edge over their contemporaries. To get the best talent, you need to tell a story about your company; why it is a great place to work, why the job you are hiring for is a great, etc. The candidate that you need is almost certainly not on Monster, CareerBuilder, or HotJobs because he or she is probably already employed and not active on those boards. Think about marketing your recruitment efforts in the same way that you market your company. Most recruiters will tell you that networking – whether it is online or in regional/national groups – will be your best source of candidates bar none. I’d also be remiss to not throw in the obligatory LinkedIn reference. It is a great tool for recruitment.
Do you think mainstream universities will start to offer entire degrees dedicated to the study of Social Media and SEO?
Ken: There are some schools that offer programs in Internet Marketing and Web Marketing, however as a liberal arts guy, I am probably biased. I view college as the place where you learn how to think critically, understand problems, and “learn how to learn”, and all of those skills are absolutely critical to being a good Internet marketer. My recommendation is that you pursue a degree in what interests you the most, and then use certification programs or direct experience to learn the how-tos of Internet Marketing. There are a number of good programs – for example, MarketMotive and the SEMPO Institute are two that immediately come to mind, that have good reputations from both employers and students alike.
Any final thoughts?
Ken: I have to reiterate that the demand for strong, experienced, Internet marketing talent right now is off the charts. The segment is growing by leaps and bounds over the traditional areas in the economy, and what’s most exciting is that it is constantly evolving which is creating outstanding career and compensation opportunity. It really is a great place to be for your career.
